The OTC business of Piramal, already among the top five OTC specialists in the Rs 20,000 crore market, had revenues of Rs 375 crore in 2016-17, a jump of 44 per cent compared to the Rs 261 crore it posted in the previous year.

Nandini Piramal-led Consumer Products Division of the Piramal Enterprise has further consolidated its position in the Over the Counter (OTC) segment with the acquisition of gastro-intestinal product Digeplex and associated brands from Shreya Lifesciences.

The OTC business of Piramal, already among the top five OTC specialists in the Rs 20,000 crore market, had revenues of Rs 375 crore in 2016-17, a jump of 44 per cent compared to the Rs 261 crore it posted in the previous year. When Piramal Enterprises started its consumer products business in 2009 post the sale of its formulation business to Abbott for Rs 18,000 crore, it was ranked only 40 amongst all OTC players in India. The business has grown at over 24 per cent over the past six years, said sources.

Earlier, dominated by FMCG companies like Dabur, Uniliver, Henkel, Reckitt Benckiser and the like, the OTC market in the country is growing at 10-14 per cent. Of late, drug companies like Cipla, Dr Reddys, Lupin, Sun Pharma etc. have floated separate divisions to boost over the counter sales. Zydus Cadila has a separate company in Zydus Wellness to tap this opportunity. One among the biggest among them is Mankind, which sells near ten per cent of its Rs4000 crore business as OTC products like contraceptive brand Manforce.

Piramal's OTC, which follows the strategy of acquiring legacy OTC brands, already have two GI brands - Polycrol and Naturolax, husk based brand which helps in treating constipation. Piramal's consumer business has brands like Saridon, Lacto Calamine, i-Pill, Quik Kool, Polycrol, Jungle Magic perfumes and bands, Tetmosol, Caladryl etc. and has six brands amongst the top 100 OTC brands.

"Acquisition is one of the important routes to help us achieve our goal and in the last two years, we have completed three acquisitions in the consumer products business", says Nandini Piramal, Executive Director, Piramal Enterprises.